Typewriter actuating mechanism for



y R. G. THOMPSON 2,323,633

TYPEWRITER ACTUATING MECHANISM FOR COUNTERS Filed May 22, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet l 1 1 1) ca'vtwo F0655 THOMPJO/V July 6, 1943- R. s. THOMPSON TYPEWRITER ACTUATING MECHANISM FOR COUNTERS Filed May 22, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 llzll I I I I I I l |l fiusm L (9. THOMPSON July 6, 1943.

R. G. THOMPSON TYPEWRITER ACTUA'IING MECHANISM FOR COUNTERS Filed May 22, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 ILIIIIIIILI July 6, 1943.

R. e. THOMPSON 2,323,633 ,TYPEWRITER ACTUATING MECHANISM FOR COUNTERS Filed May 22, 1941 4 Sheeis-Sheet 4 Patented July 6, 1943 TYPEWRITER ACTUATING MECHANISM FOR COUNTERS Russell G. Thompson, Elmira, N. Y., assignor to Remington Rand Inc., Buffalo, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application May 22, 1941, Serial No. 394,661

2 Claims.

This invention relates to typewriting and like machines, and more particularly to improved counting mechanism for registering the number of operations of parts of such machines.

An object of the present invention is to provide improved operating mechanism for a counter whereby the number of operation of the type actions or other parts of a typewriting machine may be registered with greater accuracy and without unduly increasing the effort required to operate such parts.

Other objects, purposes and characteristic features of the present invention will appear a the description thereof progresses, during which references will be made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical, sectional view of the upper rear portion of a Remington Model No. 17 typewriting machine equipped with the devices of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical, sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a further enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view taken on line 44 of Fig. 2 and showing the parts of the present mechanism in their normal position.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 except with certain parts of th present mechanism shown in an operated position.

The drawings in the presentinstance show the devices of the present invention as applied to 9. Remington Model No. 17 typewriting machine, but it is to be understood that, the invention'may be applied equally well to other makes and models of typewriting or like machines. In these drawings, only a sufl'icient number of the parts of this well known machine have been shown to enable the present invention to be thoroughly understood as applied thereto.

The structure of this machin is not modified to any material extent by the incorporation of the devices of the present; invention therein, and this structure may be generally describedas including a main frame 6 in which the printing mechanism and other related parts are mounted in the usual manner. At the upper rear portion of the main frame 6, a stationary carriage supporting frame 1 is provided which has oppositely disposed ways 8 receiving anti-friction rollers 9 which are also received in companion ways l0 formed in a movable carriage frame ll. The movable carriage frame H is provided with the usual end plates, such as l2 shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and these end plates rotatively support a platen l3 in the usual manner.

The carriage is'thus supported by the stationary frame I for movement transversely of the machine and is impelled in a letter -spacing direction from right to left by the usual spring drum (not shown), and the letter-spacing movements thereof are controlled by the usual escapement mechanism. This escapement mechanism may be generally described as including a rack I5 having its end portions secured as by screws 16 shown in Fig. 2 to end plates l2. The teeth of rack I 5 mesh with teeth of a feed pinion l8 mounted to turn upon a stationary spindle screw I9 carried by a bracket 20 secured at 2| to the rear portion of the main frame 6. An escapement wheel 24 is secured to the hub portion of feed pinion I8, and the usual dog rocker mechanism is provided to coact with the teeth of escapement wheel 24. This dog rocker mechanism includes a rocker frame 26 which is pivotally mounted by spaced screws 21 carried by depending arms 28 on bracket 20. As shown in Fig. 2, a dog 30 is provided on rocker frame 26 so that the left-hand end thereof normally engages a tooth of escapement wheel 24, and the right-hand end of dog 3!! is pivotally connected at 3| to the upper end of an arm 32 which is in turn pivotally connected at 33 to rocker frame 26. A spring 34 extends between rocker frame 26 and a depending portion of the dog 30 to normally hold the dog in its illustrated position coacting with the teeth of escapement wheel 24 but to allowthe left-hand end of dog 30 to be cammed out of the path of these teeth by a reverse rotation of the escapement wheel in the usual manner. A normally disengaged dog 36 is formed integrally at the upper portion of rocker frame 26, and when the rocker frame is oscillated about its pivots 21, dog 30 is moved out of the path of a tooth of the escapement wheel and dog 36 is moved into the path of the next oncoming tooth in the usual manner to aiford one tooth-space movement of the escapement wheel and a letter-spacemovement of the carriage.

The oscillation or rocking movement of' the rocker frame 26 is effectedin the usual manner by the operation of any one of thety'pe actions or the operationof th space bar of themachine. The operation of any one of the type actions is effective to oscillate the dog rocker frame by the usual mechanism including a universal bar (not shown) mounted in the type bar segment to be engaged by any one of the type bars as it approaches the printing position. Only a rearward extension 38 of this universal bar i shown in Fig. 1 and the end of this extension coacts with a roller 39 at the upper end of a rocker bracket 40 which is pivotally mounted at 4| on the usual cross member of the machine frame. A depending arm of the rocker bracket 40 is pivotally connected at 42 to a pull link 43 which is in turn connected at 44 to the lower portion of rocker frame 26. Thus, a printing movement of any one of the type bars causes a rearward movement of extension 38 of the universal bar which acts through rocker bracket 40 to pull link 43 forwardly and turn rocker frame 26 in a counterclockwise direction about its pivots 21 as viewed in Fig. 1. When the type bar returns from printing position, the usual spring means (not shown) is effective to return the dog rocker frame and associated parts to normal position.

In the present machine, the space bar is arranged to oscillate dog rocker frame 26 through a separate connection which includes a rearwardly extending arm 46 which is operated upwardly by a depression of the space bar. The arm 46 is pivotally connected at 41 to a vertically disposed link 43 carrying a roller 49 at the upper end thereof which is disposed to engage a forward extension 50 on dog rocker frame 26. lhus, an operation of the space bar oscillates the dog rocker mechanism through the extension 50 to afford a letter-spacing movement of the carriage in the same manner as an operation of one of the type actions.

The portion of the machine thus far described may be the same construction as usually employed and is not necessarily modified by the incorporation of the devices of the present invention therein. Although a counting mechanism arranged in accordance with the present invention may be applied to register the number of operations of any one of several parts of a typewriting machine as will later appear, this mechanism in the present instance has been shown as operated by the oscillation of the dog rocker frame 26 to thereby register the number of operations of the type actions and the space bar. The counter employed in the present instance may be of conventional construction including a casing having a window 56 exposing numerals on a plurality of registering wheels 57. The in ternal mechanism of the counter does not form a part of the present invention, and it is meant merely necessary to understand that the registering wheels 5! are arranged in the usual manner to record the turning movement of a shaft 58.

The counter housing 55 is mounted in this instance by screws 59 on an off-set bracket 60 which is in turn mounted by the screw 2! which holds the escapement bracket 26 on the machine frame and by an additional screw Bl threaded into escapement bracket 20. Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, a ratchet wheel 63 is rigidly secured on a shouldered portion of counter shaft 58, and a carrier 64 is rotatively mounted on a reduced diameter extending portion of shaft 53 and retained against displacement therefrom by a ring 65 seated in a groove at the end of the shaft. A pawl 68 is pivotally mounted by a headed pin 69 at the outer end portion of carrier 64, and a contractile spring 10 extending between a pin H on the carrier and a pin 12 on the pawl acts to resiliently hold a tooth 13 on the pawl into cooperative relation with the teeth of ratchet wheel 63.

The carrier 64 in the present arrangement is operated in both a forward and reverse direction by the oscillating movement of the escapement dog rocker. This operation of the carrier is effected by connections including a link connected at its upper end by a shouldered pivot pin 76 to the carrier, and the lower end of link 15 is provided with a vertically elongated slot Tl re ceiving the enlarged diameter body portion of a headed screw 18 (see Fig. 2), which screw is adjustably retained in a horizontally elongated slot 8!] in an operating arm 8!. The operating arm 8| is rigidly connected by screws 82 to the lower portion of dog rocker frame 26 as shown in Fig. 2. A contractile spring 84 extends between an upstanding ear 85 on arm BI and pivot pin 76 on carrier 64, and spring 84 acts to normally hold link 15 in its lowermost position with respect to arm 8| wherein the upper end wall of slot ll engages the body portion of screw 58.

The arm Bl extends horizontally in a rearward direction from pivots 21 of dog rocker frame 26 as shown in Fig. 4, and accordingly it will be clear that a rocking motion of frame 25 in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 4 will operate the rearward end of arm 8! downwardly. The spring 84 is provided with sufficient tension so that this downward movement of the end of arm 8| will move link 15 longitudinally in a downward direction without stretching the spring 84 and will provide a corresponding counter-clockwise movement of carrier 84.

The particular counter shown in the present instance is so arranged that one-fifth revolution of the shaft 58 will brin the next succeeding numeral on the right-hand registering wheel 51 into position in window 55. The ratchet wheel 63 is in this case provided with fifty teeth evenly spaced throughout its circumference so that a tenth tooth-space movement thereof in a forward direction will advance the right-hand counter wheel 5'! the required distance to bring the next succeeding numeral thereon into position in the Window 55. The operative connections between escapement rocker frame 26 and carrier 64 are so designed that an oscillating movement of the frame causes one tooth-space forward movement of ratchet wheel 63, and accordingly the righthand counter wheel 51 will register tens of operations of the escapement mechanism.

In order to insure that each eifective operation of the dog rocker will cause one tooth-space movement of ratchet wheel it is preferable that the maximum possible movement of dog rocker frame 26 should not be required to cause one tooth-space movement of the ratchet wheel 63 in order that this movement may be effected by a movement of the dog rocker which is effective and yet is not the extreme extent of.-

movement thereof. Thus a stop means is pro vided for limiting the forward movement of the link 15, and means are provided for affording a slight extent of further movement of the dog rocker after this stop means becomes effective. This stop means is provided by a forward extension 8'! at the intermediate portion of link 15. and this extension engages a shouldered pin 88 carried by the bracket 60 after a predetermined downward movement of link 75 as shown in Fig. 5. After the stop projection 81 has been operated into engagement with pin 88, it will be clear that further downward movement of the end of arm 8| is afiorded by downward movement of the pivot screw 18 in the vertical slot Tl against the force of spring 84.

A slight adjustment of the ratio of movement between the dog rocker and carrier 64 may be obtained by moving the pivot screw 18 either, toward or from the dog rocker pivots 21. This ad.- justment may be made so thatrthe smallest effective movment of the dog rocker, or a movement which will just move dog 39 out of the path of the escapement wheel teeth will cause stop projection 81 to just engage stop pin 88 and thereby cause a full tooth-space movement of ratchet wheel 63. If a further movement of the dog rocker is at times effected, this further movement will not be transmitted to carrier 64 but will cause relative movement between arm 8i and link 15 against the force of spring 84.

The dog rocker frame 26 usually receives a rapid and very abrupt movement during fast operation of the typewriting machine, and this abrupt movement has 'a tendency to cause overtravelof the counter mechanism due to the momentum acquired by this abrupt forward movement of the parts. Means are provided in accordance with the present invention for positively preventing such overtravel of the counter mechanism by causing pawl 68 to be securely held in an interdental space of ratchet wheel 63 at the end of the forward movement thereof. This means comprises a cam extension 99 at the free end of pawl 63 having a curved upper edge acting with a pin 9| carried by an upward extension 92 of stationary bracket 60. At the end of the forward movement of link 15 and carrier 64, or when stop projection 81 engages stop pin 88 as shown in Fig. 5, the curved edge portion of cam extension 99 engages pin 9! to hold tooth I3 of pawl 68 securely in an interdental space of ratchet wheel 63. In this manner, the momentum acquired by the abrupt forward movement of the ratchet wheel and other parts of the counter cannot cause a tooth of the ratchet wheel to cam the pawl outwardly due to the engagement of cam portion 90 with pin 9| as shown in Fig. and accordingly overtravel of the counter mechanism is positively prevented.

After the completion of this forward movement of the counter mechanism, carrier 94 and pawl 68 receive a reverse movement by the return movement of the dog rocker mechanism. During this return movement of the parts, carrier 64 can move freely on shaft 58 and pawl 68 is cammed outwardly to pass over a tooth of ratchet wheel 63. In order to prevent reverse movement of the ratchet wheel 63 by this return movement of the carrier and pawl 68, a holding pawl 93 is pivotally mounted at 94 on upward extension 92 of bracket 69. A contractile spring 95 extends between a rearward extension of holding pawl 93 and stop pin 83 to normall hold the pointed front end of the holding pawl in an interdental space of ratchet wheel 93. Thus, backward movement of the ratchet wheel and counter mechanism is prevented during the reverse movement of carrier 64 and pawl 68, but during forward movement of ratchet wheel 93 the front end of holding pawl 93 is cammed downwardly to allow the end of the pawl to engage the next oncoming tooth.

The backward or return movement of dog rocker frame 29 may vary from the minimum amount required to just move the normally disengaged dog 39 out of the path of the teeth of the escapement wheel to an amount considerably in excess of this minimum movement. Accordingly the parts of the present mechanism are so arranged that the minimum effective return movement of the dog rocker mechanism will return pawl 68 one tooth space with relation to the ratchet wheel 63, and means are provided for preventing pawl 68 from passing over one tooth and engaging a second tooth in the event of an excessive reverse movement of carrier 64. This means is in the form of an upward extension 96 on pawl 68 which is positioned to engage pin 9| when the pawl hasreturned more than a toothspace distance withrelation to the ratchet wheel 63. After extension has engaged pin 9i, further reverse movement of carrier 64 will cause an upward movement of dog 93 about its pivot 69 to lift the tooth 13 out of cooperative relation with the teeth of ratchet wheel 63. Thus in the event of an abnormal return movement of the dog rocker mechanism, the dog tooth 13 will not pass over one tooth and engage a second tooth of the ratchet wheel, and accordingly a subsequent forward movement of carrier 64 cannot cause more than a single tco-th space movement of ratchet wheel 63.

In order to insure proper positioning of the counter on mounting bracket 99, a plate 91 is provided on the counter casing 55, and this plate is provided with an upstanding ear portion having a slot 98 receivin pin 9| and a hooked-shaped lower extension 99 which receives the enlarged body portion of pivot pin 99. As may be seen in Fig, 4, the wall of slot 98 are curved concentrically with the axis of shaft 58 so that the counter may be initially placed on bracket 60 with pin 9! near the right-hand end of this slot and by a turning motion of the counter the hooked-shaped projection 99 may be engaged with pin 94 to insure proper location of the counter on bracket 69. A guard segment I99 may be formed integrally with the plate 91 to cover the front edge of ratchet wheel 63 as shown in Figs. 2 and 4.

An operating mechanism for a counter has thus been provided whereby the number of operations of an oscillating part of a typewriting or like machine may be accurately registered regardless of slight variations in the effective extent of the oscillating movement thereof. In this arrangement, stop means are provided for positively limiting the forward operating movement of the counter operating mechanism, which stop means is arranged to act on the connecting link 15 so that further movement of the operating arm 8| against the force of spring 84 does not apply additional force or stress on the carrier 64 and accordingly there is no strain applied to the rather delicate parts of the counter mechanism and there is no tendency toward excessive wear in the bearings for the counter shaft 58. Another feature of the present invention is the provision of means for holding the pawl in cooperative relation with the teeth of the ratchet wheel at the end of the forward movement of the carrier whereby overrun of the counter mechanism is positively prevented. This mechanism also includes means for moving the pawl out of cooperative relation with the teeth of the ratchet wheel after a predetermined reverse movement of the carrier thereby preventin an abnormal reverse movement from causing a subsequent abnormal forward movement of the counter mechanism.

The counter operating mechanism shown in the present instance is arranged to move the counter shaft 58 only during the movement of the oscillating member from normal position, but it is to be understood that the ratchet wheel 63 and holding pawl 93 could be reversed and the pawl 99 mounted in reversed relation on the carrier so that shaft 58 would be operated only during the return movement of the oscillating member to normal position. In this case, the counter could be arranged to operate forwardly by movement of shaft 58 in a clockwise direction and pin 9| should be located to coact in the manner described with the parts 90 and 9B of pawl 68. Thus the forward movement of the counter operating parts refers to the direction of movement thereof which moves the ratchet Wheel to actuate the counter regardless of whether such movement takes place during the initial or return movement of the oscillating member.

The illustrated embodiment of the present invention has been selected to facilitate in the disclosure thereof rather than to limit the number of forms which it may assume.

The invention claimed is:

1. In a typewriting or like machine, the combination of an oscillating member, a counter, a ratchet wheel operatively connected to said counter, a carrier mounted for forward and reverse movement concentric with said ratchet wheel, a pawl pivotally mounted on said carrier for movement into and out of cooperative relation with the teeth of said ratchet wheel, a link pivotally connected to said carrier and resiliently connected to said oscillating member, stop means on said link, and a stationary stop coacting with said stop means on the link to limit the movement of the link.

2. In a typewriting or like machine, the combination of a counter, a ratchet wheel connected thereto, a carrier mounted for movement in the direction of movement of said ratchet wheel, a pawl movably mounted on said carrier to coact with the teeth of said ratchet wheel, an operating link operatively connected to said carrier and having a stop element thereon, and a stationary stop element acting on the stop element of said link to limit the forward movement thereof.

RUSSELL G. THOMPSON. 

